Shenandoah, from The American Songbook

In recent years, SMF audiences have enjoyed a generous sampling of music by George Crumb (b. 1929). Crumb’s unique voice gathers disparate strands together, from nature and mysticism (Voice of the Whale) to war and chaos (Black Angels). In recent years the 85-year-old composer has worked steadily on a series of folksong settings called The American Songbook, which includes his setting of “Shenandoah.” This folksong remains one of the most popular tunes from early America; its special significance within the history of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where we find ourselves today, need hardly be pointed out. The word derives from an Oneida chieftain, Oskanondonha, who assisted white traders heading west in the late 1700s.
The song’s origins lie buried in colloquial history, passing from traders to sailors to soldiers and taking on new lyrics at several points in the process. As is typical with settings in The American Songbook, Crumb maintains the recognized melody of “Shenandoah” while framing it with amplified piano and abundant percussion. The dichotomies created thereby—between voice and instruments, between melody and percussion, between the poignantly familiar and the strikingly unfamiliar—add deeper layers to a song that has wafted across Virginia’s farms and battlefields for the past two centuries.

Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you,
Away you rolling river.
Oh Shenandoah, I love your daughter,
Away, I’m bound to go, ‘cross the wide Missouri.
'Tis seven years, since last I saw you,
Away you rolling river.
Oh Shenandoah, I do adore her,
Away, I’m bound to go, ‘cross the wide Missouri.
Oh Shenandoah, I’ll come to claim her.
Away you rolling river.
Oh Shenandoah, she’s bound to leave you,
Away, I’m going away, ‘cross the wide Missouri.

(c) Jason Stell